The operation of the "Multipurpose Cargo Terminal" Dostyk TransTerminal is now controlled by the Axelot TOS system

2021: Axelot TOS Implementation

On June 28, 2021, Axelot announced that the operation of the Dostyk TransTerminal Multifunctional Transshipment Cargo Terminal is now controlled by the AXELOT TOS system.

According to the company, it was possible to launch the system in such a short time, in just 3.5 months, and reach the planned volumes of container transshipment thanks to a variety of factors - from well-built relationships between project teams to using site features to optimize container placement algorithms.

"Dostyk TransTerminal" as of July 2021 is one of the steps of the global project to revive the "Silk Road." The "One Belt - One Road" concept, which is also called the Silk Road Revival Project, is an international initiative of China aimed at improving existing and creating trade routes, transport, as well as economic corridors for the development of trade relations. This path should connect more than 60 countries in Central Asia, Europe and Africa.

Terminal "Dostyk TransTerminal" shall provide a complete cycle of cargo, shunting operations and processing of transportation documents (including customs declaration). The terminal is located 6 km west of the Dostyk station, in close proximity to the Dostyk/Alashankou border crossing point on the Kazakhstan-China border. The terminal area is 60,000 square meters. m, the total length of the railway approaches of the terminal is 5,398 m, the length of the loading/unloading front is 850 m.

In 2021, the first stage of the construction of the terminal was completed, at the same time the question was raised about the automation of its work - in the future, up to 700 thousand containers per year should pass through the terminal. Such a volume is almost unrealistic to process "manually," a system is needed that will take over all the processes of managing the transshipment of containers and their accounting. The solution was the implementation of the AXELOT TOS system Container and Port Terminal Management. AXELOT specialists have experience in automation of container terminals and were ready to start work without delay. Moreover, the implementation of the system had to be carried out as soon as possible so that the efficiency of the terminal reached the planned indicators.

According to the schedule, 6 months were allocated for the implementation of the system. But it was possible to launch AXELOT TOS in just 3.5 months, despite the fact that the design and configuration stages of the system were carried out remotely. Effective communication, understanding of the target processes by the contractor and the customer, the developed functionality of the system, which more met the needs of the customer, as well as a flexible approach to the implementation of the project, played a significant role in optimizing the timing.

First of all, the project team on the part of "Dostyk TransTerminal" prepared developed and detailed documentation, which allowed AXELOT specialists to quickly, accurately and in detail describe future business processes and coordinate them with the customer. The processes that have been put into commercial operation are exactly the same as those developed in the conceptual design of the system.

It is also worth noting the motivation of the terminal employees who were interested in using AXELOT TOS: after trying the system in business and evaluating the possibilities of its use, the employees helped the project team in every possible way to help the implementation.

The project manager on the part of "Dostyk TransTerminal" along with the transceivers and richtrackers used a working tablet, clearly saw everything that was happening in the system, could monitor and make sure that everything was in order, the system was working "as it should."

As already mentioned, the loading/unloading area of the Dostyk TransTerminal terminal is quite long - 850 meters. This is partly a forced move: in the area where the container terminal is located, strong seasonal winds, so containers cannot be put higher than 2-3 tiers. A large area helps to distribute incoming containers in small low "bunches," without experiencing a shortage of area.

Site features, as well as well-planned and flexibly configured algorithms for placing containers during acceptance, helped facilitate the performance of operations with containers and gain time during shipment. On the entire length of the site, containers are placed according to several parameters - by trains, by forwarding agents, by arrival dates. This layout minimizes the need to reposition containers in the shipping process - on average, only about two of the 60 containers have to be repositioned.

After the launch of the AXELOT TOS system, the Dostyk TransTerminal container terminal began to overload an average of 400 containers per day from Chinese to Russian and European cars. This indicator is not final, volumes will increase in the future.

Container congestion services are now billed automatically and with proper accuracy by automatically updating currency rates and flexibly configured service recording parameters for system transaction events.

The AXELOT TOS implementation project also has positive results for AXELOT - as a result of the project, the functionality of the standard module for use at transit container terminals was expanded, which can form the basis of other projects.

The second phase of the project is planned to integrate AXELOT TOS with KTZ - Freight Transportation and 1C: Accounting LLP systems for Kazakhstan. The possibility of introducing a video recording system that further optimizes the performance of operations is also being considered: transceivers must personally record on the spot the fact of containers passing through the terminal and the sequence of cars, and with the video recording system this can be done remotely.